freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose

[realthog]

I cannot help feeling there's something appallingly wrong. Here are extracts from a story that's been posted tonight by the Beeb:

Hamas backers jailed in Texas

Two founder members of what was once the biggest Muslim charity in the US have each been jailed for 65 years.

Shukri Abu Baker, 50, and Ghassan Elashi, 55, were convicted of channelling funds to the Palestinian militant group, Hamas.Three other members of the Holy Land Foundation were jailed for between 15 and 20 years by a Dallas court. [. . . ]

Hamas was designated a terrorist organisation by the US government 14 years ago, making it illegal to give the group money or other support.

The defendants said they were only interested in helping the needy.

Their supporters said no money had been used to fund violence, and the case was a by-product of what it called the anti-Islamic sentiment following the 11 September attacks of 2001.

Shukri Abu Baker told the judge in Dallas on Wednesday: "I did it because I cared, not at the behest of Hamas." [. . .]

The indictment against the group said it sponsored Palestinian orphans and families in the West Bank and Gaza whose relatives had died or been imprisoned as a result of Hamas attacks on Israel.

I am no fan of Hamas. I'm a great fan, though, of freedom. Also, I very much approve of charities that help war orphans. In addition, I have these old-fashioned notions that children should not be punished for the crimes of their parents, and that human life should be preserved.

As far as can be established, Shukri Abu Baker, 50, and Ghassan Elash have been sentenced to what might as well be death for the crime of trying to help widows and children.

Am I the only one to see the shadow of Stalin here?

Who next? The Red Cross? Medecins Sans Frontieres? Both organizations offer humanitarian help regardless of the political or religious affiliation of the recipient. Are their leaders going to be prosecuted in Texas?

Comments

[fledgist]

Shouldn't "lose" above be "sell"?

[realthog]

"Shouldn't "lose" above be "sell"?"

Er, sorry, not with you . . .

[fledgist]

Ah, I see. Well then: http://www.zmag.org/zlyrics/230

[realthog]

Still not with you. I've done a word-search above for "lose" but, um . . .

[fledgist]

I was suggesting that Bragg's lyrics might be more apposite than Joplin's.

[realthog]

Ah, gotcha.

Actually, the lyrics are Kristofferson's. (It was only recently I discovered Joplin had done a cover! Musta fallen flat in Britain, is all I can assume.)

[fledgist]

I hadn't realised that Kristofferson was the original singer either.

[realthog]

"I hadn't realised that Kristofferson was the original singer either."

Well, he wrote it, and in those days that meant . . . Back then, and certainly in the circle I was in, covers had to be really damn' wonderful and brilliant and different from the original before they weren't sneered at; as a rule, the only versions we were much interested in were the originals. Of course there were exceptions: looking at Dylan's songs alone you had the Byrds turning them into something completely, shinily other; you had The Band being better at being Dyland than Dylan was, you had complete wild cards like Julie Driscoll with her version of "Wheel's on Fire" or Manfred Mann with "Mighty Quinn" and most certainly Hendrix with All Along the Watchtower. But most often covers were (rightly) regarded as crapola ripoffs.

[teacher-bear.livejournal.com]

Not so surprising, really is it? Doesn't matter where you live, the world is a pretty screwed up place right now.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"the world is a pretty screwed up place right now"

And always has been. It's only by people shouting about it that it ever gets any better.

[nballingrud.livejournal.com]

This is the most appalling thing I've read in a while, and in the current climate that's saying something.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Aside from anything else, the savagery of the sentencing is beyond all rational comprehension. The judge must be seriously sociopathic to believe his behaviour is other than barbarian.

[nballingrud.livejournal.com]

I agree. (Incidentally I think there are far more sociopaths among us than we dare suspect.) I see that they plan to appeal, though, so there is still hope. Though from the reading I've been doing since reading your post last night, it appears the US government has a real hard-on for this organization, so it's hard to be optimistic.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

(Incidentally I think there are far more sociopaths among us than we dare suspect.)

Couldn't agree more.

Though from the reading I've been doing since reading your post last night, it appears the US government has a real hard-on for this organization, so it's hard to be optimistic.

Hm. I wonder if Amnesty International will take up the case?

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

So, will those who over the years fed money to terrorist organisations in Northern Ireland also be prosecuted, or are we once more in the lands of 'let's discriminate!'? Am spitting nails, here.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"will those who over the years fed money to terrorist organisations in Northern Ireland also be prosecuted"

This question had crossed my mind, too . . . and the Americans who sent money to the IRA and the like weren't sending money to care for widows and orphans but to create them.

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Yep.
I come from Coventry. We saw what those 'donations' were for.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"We saw what those 'donations' were for."

Ditto. I lived in London for much of the time they were setting off their bombs there -- one of them went off alarmingly close to me, in fact. As far as I'm aware, no action whatsoever has been taken in this country about the US funders of the atrocities.